Russia
Regina’s Story: Caring for Young Cancer Patients
Looking back, Regina can see clearly that God was working for many years to reach both her and her husband with the Good News. In 2003 both Regina and her husband gained new coworkers in their workplaces that were evangelical Christians. Regina was a teacher at a vocational school and her husband worked in construction. Her husband’s coworker invited him to church, and Regina decided to go with him. There, they discovered people who were full of life and joy. Fascinated, they continued attending church services and Christian events, and in 2004 they both made the decision to repent and dedicate their lives to Jesus. Since then Regina and her husband have been growing in faith and serving in the church. Her husband is a worship leader and deacon. They also have three small children, which until recently had prevented them from pursuing a Christian education. However, when Mission Eurasia’s…
The (Literally) Life-Saving Power of God’s Word
“I am always looking for new ways to share the Gospel,” shares Olga, one of our ministry partners from Barnual, Russia. “One way I do this is by visiting the local train station once a week to leave a few copies of God’s Word around the station. “One week when I was in the process of setting out a few of the New Testaments that I had received from Mission Eurasia, I heard a voice behind me ask, ‘Are you the one who brings Scriptures here?’ I turned around to see a severe-looking elderly woman, dressed all in black. ‘Yes, I am,’ I replied. To my shock, she bowed to me. She told me that she had been visiting the train station every day for a month, hoping to meet me and share her remarkable story with me. She told me that normally she always carries a copy of the New…
Olesya’s Story: Finding God’s Light in a Dark World
In the midst of the spiritual emptiness spreading across Russia, Light Magazine–a beautiful evangelistic magazine containing the Gospel of John and designed and printed in partnership with ShareWord Global– is helping young people choose to follow Christ, rather than living for the world. These remarkable young people, like Olesya, are spreading God’s Light to their communities and families: Olesya is 15 years old and was born in South Ossetia, but her family moved to North Ossetia not long after her birth. There they started going to church, where Olesya’s brother and parents were baptized. After becoming a believer, Olesya’s father stopped drinking and swearing. “I was so happy that my family became Christians, because we finally got along,” she shared. However, after some time, Olesya’s father left the Church because he was angry that so many people claimed to be Christians but didn’t live in line with God’s teaching. Sadly, his disappointment led him…
Marat’s Story: Hearing God’s Calling Through School Without Walls
“I first heard about God through my uncle when I was ten,” shares Marat, a School Without Walls student who also studies engineering at a local university in Vladikavkaz, Russia. “He was in a coma for 40 days after being in a car accident that killed four of his friends. During this time his church prayed for and cared for him unceasingly, and my mother accepted Christ after seeing the love and care they showed him. I visited church with her for the first time around then. “A few years later, I participated in a SWW hiking camp and I was very impressed by the students’ kindness and support for one another. They also encouraged me to keep going when I felt like I couldn’t walk anymore. After this camp, I started actively attending church. My uncle had become a deacon and my family had all been baptized when I…
Zulfiya’s Story: Rescued from Drug Addiction
Zulfiya is one of our current School Without Walls students in Perm, Russia. Today she is thriving, growing in her faith, running a business, and leading an NGO that cares for homeless people in her community. But before her miraculous transformation, drug addiction stole 18 years of her life. She shared her story with us of how God rescued her from her addiction and led her to get involved in School Without Walls: “I could have died from drugs, and lost my husband and son and parents,” shares Zulfiya. “I never would have lived to see another day full of joyful laughter, the blue sky, and warm sun. Drugs stole 18 years of my life, and took my family and everything I held dear from me. “There was one day in my life that changed me from a young girl into a lonely, miserable creature living in the basement of an…
Artem’s Story: Ministry Inspiration from School Without Walls
Artem is a current School Without Walls (SWW) student in Russia. He shared with us about his calling to do ministry and how the SWW training program and the examples of his SWW peers are encouraging him and pushing him forward in his service to the Lord: “I’m 21 years old, and I live in the Krasnodar region. I accepted Christ in 2012, and a year later I was baptized. My parents are also believers, and I grew up going to church and learning about God. I always felt like He was preparing me for something, so I asked Him what His plans were for me, and I felt an urgent call to study church planting at a college in Omsk. I’ve finished my first year of study, and now I am going to do a year of practical ministry training in church planting. “For the past year, I’ve regularly…